Java Sunda - Pak Kanda

The cup of Pak Kanda has a candied caramel sweetness, that balances a raw cacao nib flavor and finish. There's a slight nuttiness too, that is like walnuts coated in butter and chocolate. The acidity is mild, like apple juice, yet articulate in light and dark roasts. Full City roasts have layered chocolate flavors and with a slightly more bolstered body than we see in City/City+ roasts. City to Full City+.

This coffee is a single-farmer lot from the area of Ciwidey. This coffee is the result of working with the local farmers in the oldest coffee-growing region in Java, and wet-processing the coffee in little batches to high standards. Java Sunda (West Java) was the original coffee area, but you would find few trees here of late. Most Java coffee is grown in the East, where the big estates are. But farmers in Java Sunda always kept small coffee plots, although they mainly grown rice, onions, cabbage, carrots and other food crops for local markets in Bandung and Jakarta. Here amongst the Ateng and Jember coffees are some old Typica trees, the original Typica, which is quite amazing. (Java was the first destination for coffee from Yemen, with a stopover in India). This is the fifth year of this project for us, and the first time we are doing single-farmer lots, thanks to the hard work of the exporter to keep each separate for us. Pak Kanda and his son manage one of the larger farms here (10 hectares), and also one with great altitude for the Ciwidey area of Sunda.

The dry fragrance of Pak Kanda sets the tone for what is the majority of this coffees profile. The fresh ground has a scent of caramel butter, almond extract, and marzipan, equally proportioned. It's a sweet, and nutty set of scents, and dark roasts add an element of fresh fired sugar glaze. Hot water boosts the sugar aspects of this coffee, bringing up notes of praline almond and cane sugar syrup in the steam. It's a very sweet smelling crust, and breaking it releases wafts of vanilla sugar and walnut. The cup of Pak Kanda has a candied caramel sweetness, that balances a raw cacao nib flavor and finish. There's a slight nuttiness too, that is like walnuts coated in butter and chocolate. The acidity is mild, like apple juice, yet articulate in light and dark roasts. Full City roasts have layered chocolate flavors and with a slightly more bolstered body than we see in CIty/CIty+ roasts. Single-origin espresso shots are quite nice, and our ristretto shot at a Full CIty roast level had a viscous body and mouthfeel, with lots of bittersweet chocolate and heavily caramelized sugars.